Monday, February 1, 2016

#RAMonday: Read-Alike Monday- The Nightingale

Every Monday we will pick a popular book to highlight and make a list of books that are similar for you to enjoy. Click on the book's title to be linked to the catalog where you can see if the book is available or place a hold for it. This week's chosen book is The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.





The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The Nightingale came out in February of 2015 and we have not been able to keep it on the shelves since then! This book has remained popular with a wide audience because of it's great story and well developed characters. 

This book is about two sisters struggling to survive during World War II in France. One sister is rebellious and intent on fighting for France. The other simply wants to survive the war with her family intact. Both sisters learn who they are and what they are capable of as the war wages on.






READ-ALIKES:

 Motherland by Maria Hummel This page-turning novel focuses on the Kappus family: Frank is a reconstructive surgeon who lost his beloved wife in childbirth and two months later married a young woman who must look after the baby and his two grieving sons when he is drafted into medical military service. When one child begins to mentally unravel, Liesl must discover the source of the boy’s infirmity or lose him forever to Hadamar, the infamous hospital for “unfit” children. 











All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr This winner of the Pulitzer Prize is about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.





The Undertaking by Audrey Magee In a desperate bid to escape the trenches of the Eastern front, Peter, an ordinary German soldier, marries Katharina, a woman he has never met. With ten days’ leave secured, Peter visits his new wife in Berlin and both are surprised by the passion that develops between them. As Peter heads to war, Katharina ruthlessly works her way into Nazi high society, wedding herself, her young husband, and her unborn child to the regime. But when the tide of war turns and Berlin falls, Peter and Katharina find their simple dream of family cast in tragic light.







The Wind is Not a River by Brian Payton The Wind Is Not a River is Brian Payton's gripping tale of survival and an epic love story in which a husband and wife—separated by the only battle of World War II to take place on American soil—fight to reunite in Alaska's starkly beautiful Aleutian Islands.
















The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally In 1915, Naomi and Sally Durance, two spirited Australian sisters, join the war effort as nurses, escaping the confines of their father’s farm and carrying a guilty secret with them. Amid the carnage, the sisters’ tenuous bond strengthens as they bravely face extreme danger and hostility—sometimes from their own side. There is great humor and compassion, too, and the inspiring example of the incredible women they serve alongside. In France, each meets an exceptional man, the kind for whom she might relinquish her newfound independence— if only they all survive.



The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian Hoping to safeguard themselves from the ravages of World War II within the walls of their ancient villa in Florence, the noble Rosatis family become prisoners in their home when eighteen-year-old Cristina's courtship by a German lieutenant prompts the Nazis to take over the estate, a situation that leads to a serial murder investigation years later.

Friday, January 29, 2016

Shakespeare exhibition to visit Lake County Discovery Museum

The Lake County Discovery Museum in Wauconda has been selected as the host site for the state of Illinois for First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare, a national traveling exhibition of the Shakespeare First Folio, one of the world’s most treasured books. The exhibition will be available to the public February 3–28, 2016. 

 

The First Folio is the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays. It was published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death. Two of Shakespeare’s fellow actors compiled 36 of his plays, hoping to preserve them for future generations. Without the First Folio, we would not have 18 of Shakespeare’s plays, including Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Antony and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, and As You Like It.    

 

Accompanying the rare book will be a multi-panel exhibition exploring the significance of Shakespeare, then and now, with additional digital content and interactive activities.
In celebration of this important cultural event, the Discovery Museum will be offering free programs, events, and performances relating to Shakespeare and the First Folio! exhibition throughout the month of February.

 

About the Lake County Discovery Museum: The Lake County Discovery Museum is located on Route 176, just west of Fairfield Road and east of Wauconda in Lakewood Forest Preserve. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 4:30 pm, Sunday from 1 pm to 4:30 pm. Museum admission is $6 for adults, $3 for seniors ages 62 and older and students ages 18 to 25, and $2.50 for youth ages four to 17.

 

Lake County Discovery Museum First Folio Exhibit homepage: http://www.lcfpd.org/museum/first-folio/

Free programs, events, and performances: http://www.lcfpd.org/calendar/?F_c=1123

First Folio Tour website: http://www.folger.edu/first-folio-tour 

 

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Blind Date with a Book


Who knows? This book could be "the one"

Come to the Lake Forest Library between now and February 11th and meet your blind date. 

Bags with books inside will be on display in the lobby for Lake Forest residents. Each bag will have a little tag with the first paragraph of the book on it to give you a sense of what is inside. Grab a bag, read it, and return it. 

Don't forget to fill out the enclosed bookmark telling us what you thought of the book. We will enter that bookmark into a drawing for a $60 gift card to the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce!

The drawing will take place on Thursday, February 11th so make sure to come in soon and grab your bag.

Take a leap and go on a date with a new book today!

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Children’s Book Discussions 2016



Maybe you and yours aren’t interested in running your own book discussion (see previous post).  Don’t worry, there’s an app for that – apply to our monthly, librarian- led discussions here in the Children’s department.  Simply download your pen and sign up in person or over the phone.  We’ve updates every month – new books,  a variety of refreshments and fresh conversations.  Welcome back those of you who have been coming this past Fall to the Junior Readers and or Family Book Club; we’re hopeful for new faces as well. There are some epic new & classic books on the horizon. 
Here's what we’re reading and discussing  Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. this Winter and Spring:

JUNIOR READERS  - children in grades 2 & 3 

January 27  Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.  Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie. This  well-crafted, realistic, and heartwarming award winner will charm its way into your heart. 

February 24  James & the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl.  Master storyteller Dahl regales us with the story of a young boy who escapes from two wicked aunts and embarks on a series of adventures with six giant insects he meets inside a giant peach.  His books are a perennial favorite with our book clubs.

March 23  The Truth of Me by Patricia MacLachlan
Robbie and his dog, Ellie, spend the summer at his grandmother Maddy's house, where Robbie learns many things about his emotionally distant parents and himself.  He gains the courage to face both physical dangers and his own feelings.

April 27  El Deafo by Cece Bell
Going to school and making new friends can be tough. But going to school and making new friends while wearing a bulky hearing aid strapped to your chest requires superpowers! In this funny, poignant graphic novel memoir, author/illustrator Bell chronicles how she really just wants to fit in and find a true friend, someone who appreciates her as she is.

FAMILY BOOK CLUB – children in grades 4, 5 & 6

January 20 The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin     
Frustrated at her seeming lack of talent for anything, a young Taiwanese American girl sets out to apply the lessons of the Chinese Year of the Dog, those of making best friends and finding oneself, to her own life.  We’ll be having our own Chinese New Year celebration!

February 17  The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.  Calling all fans of Mr. Lemoncello’s Library!

March 16  A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
The Pickles are returning to Midnight Gulch, Tennessee, a town which legend says was once magic--but Felicity is convinced the magic is still  there, and with the help of her new friend Jonah the Beedle (and some very special ice cream!) she hopes to bring the magic back.  Can you guess what the refreshments will be that night?

April 20  The Stonekeeper: Amulet, Book 1  by Kazu Kibuishi
After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids' mom through a door in the basement.  To rescue her, they follow.  What awaits them will astound you.  Exciting beginning to this popular graphic novel fantasy series.

Please join us and give our book clubs  a try.  We  think you'll rate us...